8 Mile - release date Nov 8th

No matter where we live, no matter who we are, we're all bound by borders... some real, some imagined. Many of us are content to live within these borders. Others are forced to. But some of us need to break out, burst through, even if what lies on the other side is both frightening and unknown. 8 Mile is a story about these boundaries that define our lives, and a young man's (Eminem) struggle to find the strength and courage to transcend them.

I just read an article in Time magazine about this (about an hour ago). Apparently, Eminem does a surprisingly good job with this movie.

It's not biographical, but the character does grow up in the same neighborhood under roughly the same circumstances that Eminem himself grew up in.

I've never been a big Eminem fan, but I do have respect for anyone who can pull themselves up from those kind of circumstances and make something of themselves. Even if I don't agree with what they've made for themselves

I've never been a big Eminem fan, but I do have respect for anyone who can pull themselves up from those kind of circumstances and make something of themselves. Even if I don't agree with what they've made for themselves

Agreed, John. My wife works at an alternative high school that deals with at-risk inner-city kids in Denver. One of the side effects of that job has been that she has actually started to enjoy some rap music (I personally think they left the "C" off the front of the name, but that's just me.) She convinced me to read a little more about Eminem, and I have to admit that while I find a lot of his lyrics very objectionable, he seems to be a pretty decent guy. Since the whole gun incident he seems to have grown up. He's apparently a very doting father, and his neighbors think he's a very nice guy.

As for "8 Mile", Mrs Wayner's birthday is this weekend, and she's asked me to take her to see it on Saturday. And I'm actually looking forward to seeing it. From the reviews I've read, they seem to think he's amazing! Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating! Here are some of the quotes from various reviewers:

"Tony Manero, Rocky Balboa, Eminem. It’s a dazzling debut and an important movie." (Personal note: any reviewer that says a film is "important" scares me a little.)